Fact Book: A Summary of Information about Towaway Accidents Involving 1973–1975 Model Cars. Volume 2

Hall, Robert G. · 1976 · ROSA P / United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This report, Volume II of a two-part study sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), presents a comprehensive statistical summary of towaway accidents involving 1973–1975 model passenger cars. The research addresses the complex issue of seat belt effectiveness and usage by providing detailed demographic and crash data. While Volume I focuses on analytical methods and effectiveness estimates, this volume serves as a "Fact Book," offering extensive tables and figures to answer specific questions regarding who is involved in accidents, where and when they occur, and what vehicle characteristics are present. The data aims to support hypothesis generation for safety campaigns and vehicle design modifications. The study utilized a stratified probability sample of accidents collected by five investigative teams across diverse geographic regions, including urban areas in New York, Michigan, Texas, California, and Florida. The sample comprised 15,818 occupants with complete information on belt usage, injury levels, age, crash configuration, vehicle weight, and damage severity. Data collection involved police reports, witness interviews, hospital records, and vehicle investigations, creating an intermediate-depth "Level 2" database. Sampling prioritized vehicles with occupants taken to treatment facilities, ensuring detailed injury data. The findings detail the demographic and situational profiles of accident occupants. Drivers constituted approximately 74% of the sample, with males dominating the driver role across all age groups. Occupants aged 10–55 represented the majority, though passengers included more very young and elderly individuals. Vehicle analysis revealed that males were more likely to occupy newer models (1975), while females were more prevalent in subcompacts and compacts. Crash configurations varied by demographic; males were overrepresented in rollovers and fixed-object strikes, while females were more common in rear-end and side-impact crashes. Younger occupants (10–25) were disproportionately involved in aggressive collisions like rollovers, whereas older occupants were more frequent in head-on and sideswipe accidents. Temporal analysis showed that accidents peaked during daytime and late evening hours, with males and younger drivers overrepresented in post-midnight crashes. Urban accidents were more common during the day, while rural crashes occurred more frequently at night. The significance of this work lies in its provision of granular, evidence-based data on occupant behavior and crash dynamics. By correlating variables such as age, sex, vehicle type, and crash severity, the report identifies specific risk patterns, such as the higher likelihood of males driving newer cars or younger drivers engaging in high-severity crashes. These insights are intended to guide targeted seat belt usage campaigns and inform vehicle safety modifications. The report concludes by emphasizing the utility of these tables for evaluating existing safety measures and identifying populations or vehicle systems that require further attention to reduce injury risk.

Key finding

The study provides a detailed statistical breakdown of occupant demographics, vehicle types, and crash circumstances for towaway accidents involving 1973-1975 model cars, establishing a foundational dataset for analyzing seat belt effectiveness and injury rates.

Methodology

dataset

Sample size: 15818

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• incidence prevalence
• demographic disparities
• crash typology
• fatality injury trends

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: crash risk outcomes, observational prevalence